CBOT Sets Volume Records

CHICAGO - Jul 3/06 - SNS -- The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) reports volume during the second quarter of 2006 reached a record 208,019,646 contracts, an increase of 13% over the second quarter of 2005.

Volume for the second quarter averaged a record 3,301,899 contracts per day, up 14% from the same period last year. Average daily volume (ADV) on the Exchange's e-cbot electronic trading platform also set a record during the second quarter with 2,220,253 contracts traded each day, a 20% increase compared with the second quarter of 2005.

Total CBOT volume for June 2006 was 70,723,405 contracts, a 20% increase over June 2005. June's volume total ranks as the second highest volume month in the history of the Exchange. The all-time CBOT monthly volume record was set in May 2006 – 79,828,143 contracts. Electronic ADV in June 2006 reached 2,084,112 contracts, 30% greater than June 2005.

The CBOT Agricultural futures and options complex reached volume records for both the second quarter and the month of June. For the quarter, ADV was a record 528,772 contracts, a 31% increase over the second quarter of 2005. In June, ADV reached 593,798 contracts, 16% greater than the same month last year.

The new volume records in the Exchange's Ag complex were driven, in part, by record performance in Corn futures and Wheat futures contracts, which saw monthly ADV grow by 36% and 49%, respectively.

The CBOT also set quarterly total volume records for Corn futures (11,973,980 contracts), mini-sized Corn futures (42,130 contracts), Corn options (2,636,550 contracts) Wheat futures (4,428,735 contracts), Wheat options (667,677 contracts) and Soybean Oil futures (2,579,463 contracts).